Receding flood waters fuel cautious optimism

People in and around the Quad Cities are beginning to clean up after flooding water-logged homes and businesses and closed some streets.

Davenport city officials said the length of River Drive that remained closed shrank again Thursday, April 25. River Drive remained closed between Division Street and Third Street in Davenport. River Drive reopened earlier in the week in Bettendorf.

Route 150 reopened after it was closed for four days along the east side of the Quad City International Airport property.

Flood warnings remained in effect for several locations along the Rock, Mississippi and Wapsipinicon rivers.

The Rock River near Joslin remained under a flood warning as the river level was about five feet above the 12-foot flood stage Thursday evening. The National Weather Service said the river was expected to fall to 16 feet Friday morning.

The Rock River at Moline was also under a flood warning that was expected to last until Thursday, May 2. The river was at 15.6 feet April 25 and expected to fall below 14 feet by Saturday morning before falling below the 12-foot flood stage May 2.

The flood warning for the Rock River at Como was in effect until Friday evening, when the water was expected to fall below the 10-foot flood stage there.

The flood warning for the Mississippi River at Gladstone Lock & Dam 18 was in effect until further notice. Flood stage there is 10 feet, and the river was at 15.3 feet there at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 25.

The Mississippi River at Rock Island Lock & Dam 15 is under a flood warning until Tuesday, April 30. Flood stage there is 15 feet. The river was expected to drop below 16 feet by Thursday evening and below flood stage Tuesday.

The Mississippi River at Muscatine is under a flood warning until further notice. Flood stage there is 16 feet, and the river was at 19.5 feet at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, April 25. The river was expected to fall below 18 feet by Saturday evening.

The Mississippi River at Burlington was also under a flood warning until further notice. The river was at 29.9 feet there at 8 p.m. Thursday, and expected to continue to slowly fall.

The Mississippi River at Keithsburg was under a flood warning until further notice. Flood stage there is 14 feet and the water was at 17.8 feet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The river was expected to fall to 17.1 feet by Friday morning, giving some relief to homes along First Street in Oquawka.

The Mississippi River at New Boston Lock & Dam 17 was under a flood warning until further notice. It was expected to fall to just over 19 feet by Friday morning. Flood stage there is 15 feet.

The Wapsipinicon River flood warning at DeWitt 4S was expected to remain in effect until Monday, April 29. The river was at 12.6 feet Thursday morning and continuing to fall. Flood stage there is 11 feet.